


To Defeat A Dragon

by ragewerthers



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Humor, Sokka (Avatar) is a Good Friend, Squealing Santa, Tickling, Zuko deserves kindness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:46:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28308495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ragewerthers/pseuds/ragewerthers
Summary: With the 100 year war behind them and the battles now lying more in the council room then on the battlefield, Sokka and Zuko take a moment to reminisce over the last few years.However, reminiscing comes with a few surprises for Zuko when he forgets something rather important about the spars he used to have with Sokka.  But no worries... Sokka is more than happy to remind him.
Relationships: Sokka & Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 30





	To Defeat A Dragon

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!
> 
> This is my fic for @calmturquoise for the Squealing Santa 2020! Thank you for giving me the chance to write something so sweet for these two and getting to join in on the fun of ATLA again!
> 
> I also want to thank @ticklygiggles for hosting this event again! You're amazing!
> 
> The prompt was for sweet, platonic Sokka and Zuko and I was so excited to get the chance to write these two!!!
> 
> You can also read on Tumblr at: ragewerthers.tumblr.com
> 
> Enjoy! :)

“I think they’re deliberately starting to make those Council meetings longer,” Zuko grumbled, shifting uncomfortably where he now rested. Currently, he was sat at the edge of the small turtleduck pond in the middle of the royal gardens. Attempting to alleviate the ache in his back he went to sit up a little straighter. The result was his back cracking in a way that was probably unhealthy for someone who was only twenty-three, but really he should’ve known this would be par for the course. Growing up a child warrior really isn’t kind to the bones in the long run. Wincing at the dull ache it left behind it wasn’t enough to distract him from the snort of his less than empathetic friend.

“No, buddy. You’re just finally starting to become the cranky old man you always were inside,” Sokka teased, practically laying beside Zuko as he reclined back on his elbows… before promptly collapsing next to the Firelord with a yelp. A charlie ostrihorse had  _ aggressively  _ decided to seize the muscles in his shoulders and neck and all he could do was roll around in the grass like a crazy person. Apparently, Zuko wasn’t the only one starting to feel the effects of those long meetings. 

Zuko instantly smirked at the reaction, happy to see Sokka getting a taste of the elderly lifestyle they now lived in apparently. 

“First of all, you deserve all of what’s happening to you right now,” Zuko said, waving his hand in the direction of Sokka’s prone form. “Second of all, what do you mean cranky?! I’m a ray of sunshine.”

The words were spoken so deadpan that Sokka instantly snorted with a bit of pained laughter, still clutching the side of his neck as he lay on the ground. “Don’t d-do thahat! Can’t you s-see I’m hurting?!” he whined, though his smile still remained as he looked over at his best friend. “But yes… how could I forget, oh great Firelord, that the sun is literally supposed to shine out of your butt?”

Zuko finally broke into a more open smile, sitting up a little straighter and nodding. “And don’t you forget it,” he joked, getting another ridiculous giggle from Sokka.

After a few more minutes, the pain finally seemed to subside as the water tribesman was able to sit up with a wince. Rolling his shoulder a bit to try and work out the last of the kink he couldn’t stop himself from letting out an almost wistful sigh. “But isn’t it a bit sad? I didn’t think it was possible to get aches and pains from just sitting! Remember the good old days of our youth when we could spar for hours and hours and we wouldn’t even be phased?”

“What do you mean ‘the good old days of our youth’? You’re only a year younger than me,” Zuko said with a little roll of his eyes as he began to remove his crown. With no further meetings scheduled for the day he figured he might as well be comfortable. Setting it beside himself on the grass he settled back against the tree, ignoring the look Sokka was giving him.

“Hey! We’re older than we were back then, right? So… those are the days of our youth! And you ignored the question,” he huffed.

“Oh… you were actually looking for an answer to your ramblings?” Zuko teased, a small smile fighting to quirk up the corners of his lips as he tried to ignore Sokka puffing his cheeks up like a toddler. Oh yeah… the man  _ obviously _ had matured so much since those days. “Okay, okay. I do remember. I still consider myself proficient with the dual dao, but I think you’re right. With sitting most of our days away, I’m sure it hasn’t done our skills any favors.”

Sokka’s pout instantly retreated, replaced with a light smile as Zuko agreed with him. “Right? Not to mention that it was always super satisfying every time I won which, I mean, was almost always after our first few spars,” he said smugly, causing the Firelord to instantly focus on him.

“I’m sorry… what?” Zuko asked, his eyes narrowed and voice almost dangerously low.

Sadly, enough time and shared moments between them meant that Sokka no longer feared the ‘fire scowl’. Instead, his smug smile only grew. “You heard me. You may have handed my ass to me the first few times we spared, but after that I almost never lost another fight against you.”

“.... did that cramp do something to your memory?” Zuko wondered aloud. “It must’ve because if memory serves, you almost  _ never _ won against me. You came close a number of times, but I was almost always the victor.”

However, regardless of how insistent his statement, that smug smile still remained on Sokka’s face as the Southern Water Tribesman sat up beside his friend. “Nope. I’m afraid old age has started to rust up those memories of yours, Sifu Hotman. I won almost  _ all _ of our spars and I can’t believe you’ve forgotten.”

“......... did you drink one of Uncle’s experimental teas again? You know he almost killed himself doing that once!” Zuko warned, because that was the  _ only _ way that Sokka could possibly think that he had won so many of their duels.

But something akin to worry grew in Zuko’s chest when he saw Sokka’s smile turning from smug to something a little more dangerous.

“Oh my dear Jerkbender. I think you’ve forgotten that while you may have had the upperhand most of the time when we were dueling, I found out a secret move. Because I remembered a universal truth about dragons."

Oh yeah… Sokka definitely drank the experimental teas. He’d  _ warned _ uncle that cactus juice wasn’t to be messed with!

Zuko quirked an eyebrow at the comment before closing his eyes to calm his temper. Taking in a deep breath before letting it out slowly, he turned once more to look at his friend. “Okay, buddy. Let’s get you to the healers,” he began gently, carefully reaching forward to rest his hand on Sokka’s shoulder. “I think they have a remedy for thi-HIHIS?!”

Immediately his arm moved back from Sokka to cover his side as an electric feeling zipped through his veins.

Sokka was only just keeping himself from laughing beside him, his fingers still poised from where they’d managed a small nibbling pinch against the Firelord's lower ribs. “The thing about dragons…,” Sokka continued, ignoring Zuko’s insistence on getting him medical attention. “... is that all of them have a soft spot. Once you find it… you can defeat it. And I was lucky enough to find a dragon with more weak spots then most.”

Suddenly Zuko remembered almost every one of his spars with Sokka… and with it the memory of an evil, horrible truth. Sokka had indeed won most of their spars after the first few. Because that cheating dunderhead had accidentally found out that Zuko… was horrendously ticklish.

And judging from the look Sokka was leveling him with his friend was looking to make sure he definitely remembered this little fact.

“S-Sokka! Sokka, listen to me… don’t you da-AH!” he shouted, rolling away just in time as Sokka attempted to tackle him into the grass. Quickly, Zuko managed to get up onto his knees, trying to get his feet underneath him to stand, but fate decided to deal him a cruel hand once more. His Fire nation robes for all the brilliance and regality they offered him to onlookers were far from practical. Long and flowing silks were seen as traditional and although he’d made many reforms in his time already on the throne, fashion hadn’t quite made it to the table yet. Thus, as he attempted to flee from his friend, his feet only managed to step on the front of his robes, stopping his movements and pausing him just long enough to land himself in Sokka’s clutches.

Before he knew it, two strong arms were already locked around his waist and Zuko attempted to use his words once more to try and plead his case for freedom.

Of course… when had that ever played out in his favor?   
  
“Sokka! S-Sokka, I remember, okay? You…. y-you don’t have to do this!” Zuko attempted to sound reasonable and less nervous then he felt, though he realized stuttering over his words lost a little bit of that authoritative tone he was aiming for.

“Oh, I realize I don’t  _ have _ to do this,” Sokka teased, crooking the fingers of his left hand to press in just a little bit more against Zuko’s side making the young Firelord gasp and bite his lower lip to stay quiet. “But at this point I feel it is my  _ duty _ to remind Lord Jerkbender about this so he doesn’t forget who the number one spar master is.”

“Spar master isn’t even a thing! You can’t just give yourself titles like th-ahahat! Ah! Nonono!” Zuko’s small diatribe instantly died on his lips as Sokka’s fingers began to wriggle against his side, a few rather unbecoming giggles already breaking free before he reined himself in again.

“What was that? Were you backsassing Sokka the mighty dragon slayer?!” Sokka teased, though he couldn’t help smiling as he already heard the familiar rasp of Zuko’s laughter. This was going to be far too entertaining. How could he pass up this opportunity?   


“Dragon slayer?! You’re ridiculous! Let me gohohoahahaha! Stahp it! Stahahahap!” Zuko felt the flutter of Sokka’s other hand where it rested against his lower ribs on the opposite side. Immediately the jolt of ticklish sensations raced through him and he felt his knees already starting to turn to jelly beneath him. Of all of the things he could be weak against, something as silly as tickling was more than enough to sap his strength.   
  
Sokka’s smirk came back as he heard that, his fingers, scribbling lightly over both the Firelord’s sides. Working in tandem his fingers lightly brushed along the vulnerable area before massaging quickly into his lower ribs. If memory served, this had been one of the better weak spots of this particular dragon.

“WAHAIT!” Zuko cried out, his laughter finally breaking free from those raspy giggles to something lighter and more carefree. Honestly, it was something Sokka had been so proud to draw out all those years ago when Zuko was still that broody teenager who had joined their gaang. He had been so awkward and to be fair, their dear jerkbender still kinda was, but after attempting through sheer bullheadedness to forge a friendship with him, Sokka honestly couldn’t have been prouder to call him his best friend.

And what kind of best friend would he be if he didn’t tease and taunt Zuko into never forgetting his super awesome new title that he just came up with? A terrible one… and Sokka  _ refused _ to be a terrible friend.

“Wait? Wait for what? Oh! Were you going to finally call me by my proper title?” Sokka teased as he moved one of his hands down to squeeze along Zuko’s right hip.

Zuko instantly jumped at the sensation, feeling his legs finally starting to cave under him as he attempted to curl up in Sokka’s hold to escape the sensations. He could feel his cheeks and ears heating up as his laugh bubbled up unbidden, the noise still slightly foreign to him even after all these years. However, Sokka had never seemed to have a problem drawing it out of him. He just wished he had remembered that before drawing out the ‘dragon slayer’ once more.

“Nehehehever!” Zuko growled out between his laughter, his hands weakly attempting to push away Sokka’s to no avail. “Ihihit’s a… a stuhupid naha-EHEHEHE! STAHAHP IT Y-YOU AHAHAHASS!” Zuko’s strength finally gave out as his legs buckled beneath him, though with Sokka’s arms around him he was easily lowered to the ground. Sadly this did nothing for his current situation as Sokka had seemed to remember another one of his worst spots.

His stomach.

“Doth my ears deceive me? Did you just call my regal and totally awesome title  _ stupid?!  _ How dare you, good sir!” Sokka teased, his arm braced carefully around Zuko as his other vibrated quickly right against the center of Zuko’s stomach. He’d learned very early on that the easiest way to break Zuko’s concentration and resolve was a nice little attack on this particular area. “You know how to get this to stop, Zuko! Admit that I am the best dragon slayer in the world!”

Zuko snorted as Sokka’s hand began to scribble all around the hyper ticklish spot, trying to shimmy this way and that out of the man's hold to get away from the maddening touch. However, practically sitting on the ground with a tickle monster clung to your back really didn’t leave much wiggle room and Zuko realized his chances of freedom were slim. But his pride just wouldn’t allow for him to admit defeat just yet!

“Thahahaha’ts not e-even a thihihing! I re-refuhuhuse to gihihive in t-to yo-AHAHA! STAHP IT! STAHPSTAHPSTAHAHAHAP!” Zuko instantly broke into the most wild and ridiculous laughter as Sokka snuck one of his hands under his arm, his fingers spidering quickly against Zuko’s underarm in a way that drove the firebender crazy with ticklish laughter. Zuko instantly snapped his arms to his sides, trapping Sokka’s hand against his armpit while the man's other hand continued to scribble and send nibbling pinches all along his stomach.

“Admit it! Admit that I’m the best!” Sokka called over Zuko’s loud laughter, the sound of it making him smile like an idiot even as a few chuckles escaped him. Spirits, it really had been far too long since he’d seen Zuko let loose like this even just a bit. Maybe this was something they needed in their lives a bit more? It definitely wouldn’t hurt after all the droll and intense meetings they were forced to go to day in and day out.

Meanwhile, Zuko was dying. The Kiyoshi warriors were going to show up here to see that their poor Firelord had met his end at the hands of a ridiculous man who had a pension for coming up with truly terrible titles for things! Sadly he couldn’t dwell on his dramatic end as Sokka’s fingers were still attacking two of his worst spots. Zuko knew that there really was only one way out of this.   
  
“OKAHAHAY! O-OKAY I AHAHADMIT IHIHIT!” Zuko cried out with unrestrained laughter, feeling the tickling slowing down just a little to keep him giggling ridiculously.

“What was that? Are you trying to tell me something, buddy?” Sokka teased, his fingers wriggling lightly against Zuko’s armpit as the other hand focused on a particularly sensitive spot on the side of the firebenders stomach.

Zuko snorted and kicked his legs out weakly before nodding. “Y-yes! You… you’re the behehehest gah! Not thehehere! Not there plehehease! Agnihihi why-hehehe?!” Zuko giggled hysterically as Sokka found that spot on his stomach. Taking as deep a breath as possible he tried to once more to make his bid for freedom! “Y-You’re the behehehest drahagon slahahahayer! Plehehehase!”

Sokka’s fingers immediately stopped their torment, chuckling a bit to himself. “See? That wasn’t so hard was it?” he teased, patting Zuko’s back as he helped the man sit up, watching the firebender wiping away tears of mirth from his eyes as residual giggles still managed to escape.

“Yes. Y-yes it was,” Zuko shot back, though as he turned to look at his friend, the smile on his face was more relaxed, even after the mini battle he’d just had to endure. “I can’t believe I… forgot what a… giant pain in the ass you were after you figured that out.”

It was Sokka’s turn to laugh as he heard that and he felt his smile growing all the more fond. “It was probably one of my greatest discoveries and I will cherish it forever! Not many people can say they bested the Firelord,” Sokka teased, lightly nudging Zuko with his elbow and getting a chuckle in response.

“That’s fair. But really? Dragon slayer?” Zuko asked, trying to earn back a bit of dignity as he attempted to straighten out his traitorous robes.

“What? It makes me sound so cool!” Sokka cried out dramatically, making it incredibly hard for Zuko not to roll his eyes.

“I’m still not convinced you didn’t try one of uncle’s teas,” Zuko murmured, though he smiled regardless. “And I hope you know that this is the last time the mighty ‘dragon slayer’ is going to win. I won’t be caught with my guard down like that again.”

“Oh? Is that a challenge, Jerkbender?” Sokka teased, leaning closer and wiggling his fingers threateningly.

Zuko couldn’t suppress a snort of laughter as he pushed Sokka’s face away gently with his palm. “I’m too old for your nonsense,” he joked, making Sokka laugh brightly.

“Nah. We’re still young at heart. That’s all that matters,” Sokka said with a fond smile. “And if you ever forget that as well, I’m more than happy to remind you again about the days of our youth.”

Shaking his head, but with a fond smile on his lips, Zuko couldn’t help feeling that familiar warmth build in his chest. The world may be changing. They may still be working to right the wrongs and suffer through countless meetings and council members, but… with friends like Sokka there to remind him it was okay to let loose, laugh and remember that they really were still young at heart, he knew he could face anything.

Even dragon slayers.


End file.
